


The Situation

by cmdr_tomasson



Series: Tales From Tewanta [1]
Category: Elite Dangerous (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 10:31:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20388274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmdr_tomasson/pseuds/cmdr_tomasson





	The Situation

### Wilson Port, Tewanta - 3305-07-11 07:11 AM, Galactic Standard Time 

Commander Austin Graves stepped into his office and closed the door with his elbow. He placed a mug of coffee and a synth-meat sandwich on his desk, sat down in his chair, and thumbed on his terminal. He had been tasked by Central Command of Official Tewanta Order to get to the bottom of the recent situation regarding their drop in influence in their home system. He knew the reason already - The Buurian Protectorate - but he wanted to figure out the details, and more importantly, what he could do about it. It was important enough that he didn't want to wait until after breafast. He decided to browse the opposition intel report on The Buurian Protectorate while eating. He skimmed the introduction: a cooperative, mission to protect an endangered ape species, no superpower connections. Nothing he didn't know already from his brief meeting with Progenitor Eisley Woodward. He made a point of meeting the leaders of any major group in the system, as soon as he could, to form his own impression of them. She seemed friendly enough, idealistic, energetic: a typical hippy type. Though, thinking back, she wore a sly mocking grin when she asked about the view from his office. Bitch! He wasn't going to move from his office without a fight, or hand over the system, for that matter. At the time, though, he'd not considered her a threat at all. That was a mistake, he thought. He returned to the report.

> Finances: Strong
> 
> For a cooperative, with an ecology & environment focus, The Buurian Protectorate have surprisingly strong finances. Sources of funds are unknown - the confectionary business they run does not account for it - though, donations from wealthy donors and the discounts offered by independent pilots may account for their strength. Recommend investing heavily in espionage and intelligence to reduce the uncertainty here.

Commander Graves frowned. He was not a fan of independent pilots. They were too unreliable. That The Buurian Protectorate were making productive use of them, was both a good and bad thing in his eyes. Their helpers could possibly be bought off or may wander off on their own. He read more.

> Espionage & Intelligence: Strong
> 
> Their staff are loyal with very good opsec habits. This is not out of character with an organization that many Imperial systems and fur trading corporations would consider eco-terrorists.

Hmm, he thought, that will make things more challenging.

> Diplomacy: Very Strong
> 
> As a core strength and ethos of cooperative organizations this is not surprising though will make recruiting allies against them difficult.

He frowned. He wasn't liking what he was reading. He skipped ahead to the Combat Capabilities section.

> Regarding the types of vessels and skill of the pilots on their payroll, The Buurian Protectorate is on par with the Official Tewanta Order. Their fleet is numerically inferior and they have much less spec ops capabilty on their regular staff. However, independent pilots provide a significant enhancement to their capabilities. A grouping identified by The Pilots' Federation as The Buur Pit have been providing the significant aid and were decisive in the civil war with Tewanta Company.

He brought up the [Pilots federation records for this group](https://inara.cz/squadron-roster/5447/) of independent pilots. A broad range of combat ability from Elite to Harmless with the median at Competent and far too many Masters for comfort. He then did a search for ships belonging to the group that have been spotted in the system. He took a drink from his coffee mug, his mouth suddenly dry. They had a lot of ships in the system: cargo transports, passenger liners, & way too many military vessels. Too many of those were large ships: Corvettes & Anacondas. There were too many heavy fighters, Vultures, Chieftains, & Fer de Lances, in there too. And too many combat capable multi-role ships like Krait Mk IIs and Pythons. Missing this build up of ships was another mistake. Central Command would not look kindly on that.

With a growing sense of dread he searched tactical databases for tactical analyses of The Buurian Protectorate. There was very little to go on and barely any video. Survivors of the Tewanta Company defence forces mentioned that Correspondents and Spec Ops forces were specifically targetted. Once those were disposed of, the remaining forces were mopped up quickly. It made grim reading: 80% to 90% casualty rates. But there was very little in the way of tactical analysis. The survivors were mostly ships that arrived just before the retreat orders were issued. The one correspondent that escaped was so badly damaged that its recording equipment was destroyed. He wracked his brain for some source of tactical intel. Wait a minute, he thought, wasn't one of the CMDRs a video journalist? He did a search on Galnet and found [footage of a pirate clearance operation in Asellus Primus](https://youtu.be/hcFrF1FGAh4). As he watched, blood drained from his face. They attacked in groups focusing devastating fire on their targets. While not as clean and clinical as he was taught in the Academy, it was equally effective, and more unpredictable. They tore Anacondas apart in seconds. Light strike fighters were unable to avoid them. Medium sized ships also didn't last.

Randomius help us, he said out loud. Perhaps it would be prudent to move office after all.


End file.
